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Green Day's 'Dookie' at 20: Classic Track-By-Track Review

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Quick histories of punk rock often highlight the immortal class of 1977 (Pistols, Clash, Ramones) and then jump to the crossover success of Nirvana and Green Day in the 90s. That's entirely misleading, overlooking an multitude of amazing punk and post-punk albums in between, but there's a reason "Dookie" remains such a landmark. For those well-versed in Fugazi, the Replacements and everything in between, punk never went anywhere. But for major labels and the music biz at large, "Dookie" forced the powers that be to once again pay attention to punk rock.

After forming in 1987, Green Day found a home in the tight-knit East Bay, CA punk scene, though they didn't plan on stopping there -- especially frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who wrote sugary, almost bubblegum choruses and ditched punk's heavier subjects (at least until an album called "American Idiot") in favor of crowd-pleasing takes on girls, boredom, drug use and masturbation. In 2009 "American Idiot" was adapted into a Broadway musical. Just last December, Armstrong released a collaborative album of Everly Brothers covers with Norah Jones. These days, it's no secret that Armstrong is a big-time poptimist. In 1994, "Dookie" first proclaimed this to the world outside the East Bay punk scene.

In 1992, Green Day released "Kerplunk," their second studio album via the independent Lookout! Records. Its tightly-wound pop-punk hooks (including one on an early version called "Welcome to Paradise") caught the ear of Rob Cavallo, then a junior A&R scout at Reprise Records. Cavallo signed the band and agreed to produce "Dookie," along with mixing from Jerry Finn, who provided it with just enough radio-friendly gloss.

While the punk scene back home disowned them, the rest of America embraced Green Day. "Dookie" produced five hit singles, won them a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, and to date, has sold over 8 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan. With Feb. 1, 2014 marking the 20th anniversary of its release, join Billboard in this track-by-track re-examination of one of punk's greatest chart successes.

Quick histories of punk rock often highlight the immortal class of 1977 (Pistols, Clash, Ramones) and then jump to the crossover success of Nirvana and Green Day in the 90s. That's entirely misleading, overlooking an multitude of amazing punk and post-punk albums in between, but there's a reason "Dookie" remains such a landmark. For those well-versed in Fugazi, the Replacements and everything in between, punk never went anywhere. But for major labels and the music biz at large, "Dookie" forced the powers that be to once again pay attention to punk rock.

After forming in 1987, Green Day found a home in the tight-knit East Bay, CA punk scene, though they didn't plan on stopping there -- especially frontman Billie Joe Armstrong, who wrote sugary, almost bubblegum choruses and ditched punk's heavier subjects (at least until an album called "American Idiot") in favor of crowd-pleasing takes on girls, boredom, drug use and masturbation. In 2009 "American Idiot" was adapted into a Broadway musical. Just last December, Armstrong released a collaborative album of Everly Brothers covers with Norah Jones. These days, it's no secret that Armstrong is a big-time poptimist. In 1994, "Dookie" first proclaimed this to the world outside the East Bay punk scene.

In 1992, Green Day released "Kerplunk," their second studio album via the independent Lookout! Records. Its tightly-wound pop-punk hooks (including one on an early version called "Welcome to Paradise") caught the ear of Rob Cavallo, then a junior A&R scout at Reprise Records. Cavallo signed the band and agreed to produce "Dookie," along with mixing from Jerry Finn, who provided it with just enough radio-friendly gloss.

While the punk scene back home disowned them, the rest of America embraced Green Day. "Dookie" produced five hit singles, won them a Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album, and to date, has sold over 8 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen Soundscan. With Feb. 1, 2014 marking the 20th anniversary of its release, join Billboard in this track-by-track re-examination of one of punk's greatest chart successes.